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The Questing Organization: Charred Remnants
Prologue The dark haired boy wished. He wished for another day, where humans were only hunted by themselves, and the gods remained a secret. He wished for the ages when Camp Half-Blood still stood, untouched by Kronos. Those days weren't now. Two girls, one with fiery red hair, entered the alleyway, interrupting his thoughts. They were, like Michael, bruised and bleeding, wearing black leather combat gear. ''Behold, the great Questers'' Michael thought bitterly. "Anything new?" he said, handing them each a stolen Chipotle taco. "We found someone," Ava said, through mouthfuls of Taco. "Kyra?" "No," Natalie sighed. "But she may be a link to many others." Michael stood up impatiently, wiping ashes from his pants. "Who is it?" Natalie nodded to an unseen person. Annie Anitho stepped forward. Michael ignored her, and faced Natalie and Ava. "What do you mean, she may be a link to many others." Ava rolled her eyes. "Don't you get it? We could locate the Heroes Organization." ''End Prologue''﻿ Chapter One She didn't want to find the Heroes Organization. She didn't want to see them again. They were too gullible in her mind. They acted on assumption; they refused to look at the facts. She thought they were selfish, arrogant. Almost exactly like her. She didn't want to hear them complain about who they “lost”. From what that Annie girl had told her and Natalie, they at least lost someone. Not that she willingly gave them the information. To her, death wasn't a loss. It was a gain. Living was only one half of life. You had to die, no matter what. In her mind, they were too stupid to realize that. And this was how she dealt with the pain of losing her friends. She kept in inside. Never let it see the sunlight. Maybe this was how Natalie felt when Michael Yew had died. So lost, so forgotten. They hadn't even found the body, from what she had been told. ''But he wasn't supposed to go'', a voice inside her head reminded her, ''this is different.'' Her scowl grew and her eyes reflected the conflict she held with her emotions. She wasn't exactly okay, it seemed like she would break any second. Michael looked less stressed than her. He was almost always like that though. Almost. He was usually the happy kid, but as he grew older he seemed less of that. More worried nowadays. Natalie was the same, more or less. She knew how to coop with loss, unlike her and Michael. She knew what it felt like to lose someone you loved. If you could ever mark Ava as loving someone. She certainly didn't show it. Not usually, anyway. The Annie kid followed them reluctantly. Ava understood her body language. She could care less about what happened to the Heroes Organization. Much like how Annie didn't care what happened to the “Questers”. Like they were the Questers anymore. Now they just stole food and killed monsters. Nothing like what they used to do. ''You can't live in the past, you told yourself that, or are you a hypocrite now?'' She didn't know what to think anymore . A bit odd, as far as magical weapons go. “You're quiet.” the Annie girl told her. There was a hint of amusement in her voice. Ava knew she was hurting inside though. She knew that much, but she can't resist the temptation to snap at her. Somehow, she managed to keep her head. “We're all hurting, but why does it hurt more for me?” she muttered, ignoring the look Annie gave her. ''Because you refused to believe they could ever disappear despite of what you tell yourself.'' ''End Chap. 1'' Chapter Two Would Stella have approved? Annie wondered while hidden in the bus. Was it the right choice to lead them to the last place the Heroes Organization had met? It had to be. Besides, she was outnumbered, three to one. As the Questers and Annie, headed towards Brooklyn, Natalie also wondered if it was the right choice. ''Could she be leading us into a trap? ''Natalie wondered. ''No. ''Natalie knew Annie, and even after The Crisis, Annie wouldn't side with Kronos. Any Quester or Hero would meet death willingly rather then join. The bus screeched to a halt. "This is our stop," Annie whispered. The foursome pulled up the hoods of the rainjackets they had stolen, and followed the crowd out of the bus, where a Cyclops was checking they're tickets. Natalie glanced at her half-brother, and saw his own misgivings reflected in his eyes. "It'll be okay," Michael whispered. When they reached the Cyclops, Natalie held her breath. The Cyclops checked their tickets and sniffed disdainfully. "You're free to go, ragbags." "Why you-" Quick as lightning, Ava unsheathed her knife and stabbed him in the eye. "Damn Cyclops," she muttered. The Cyclops didintegrated, but not before sounding the alarm. Natalie cursed. "You idiot!" Annie cried. "Follow me!" Annie ran out of the bus station. When Natalie looked back, The Gorgon Bus Driver was pulling a lever, releasing three hellhounds. Natalie went over their options. "Faster," she yelled, and their steps quickened. The Hellhounds were gaining. ''End Chap. 2'' Chapter Three "Run!" shouted Michael as they rushed past the tree line. He and the others heard the sounds of the Hellhounds drawing ever closer. Michael looked around, but only saw Annie and Natalie slightly behind him. ''Where was Ava?'' "Michael!" shouted Natalie quickly as he turned around to see her and Annie, weapons drawn out, surrounded by the Hellhounds. Michael didn't think, he just reacted. He immediately charged the closest Hellhound while simultaneously drawing out his sword. He took three swift swings from his sword and vaporized the demon mutt while Natalie and Annie engaged another. Suddenly, Michael felt a burst of pain coming from his side, and was tossed several feet back. He looked down and realized the third hellhound had bitten him. "Crap." "Ouch!" shouted Natalie as the hellhound clawed her. Annie pushed her back and then went in for a jab, managing to impale the tip of her weapon into the throat of the hellhound. She twisted quickly and the Hellhound evaporated. They both managed to turn to help Michael, but it was too late, the Hellhound was ready to pounce. "Ahhhhh!" screamed Ava as she jumped from the branches from a tree above Michael, landing directly onto the Hellhounds back, and stabbed it multiple times with her dagger before it disintegrated. She fell down into the pile of demonic dust and quickly adjusted herself as Natalie and Annie made it to them. "Man! We thought you were a goner Michael," said Natalie as she pulled Michael up by his arm. He winced. "So did I," admitted Michael as he looked back at his wound. "Thanks Ava." "Don't mention it." Michael sighed and then looked at the backpack that was lying on the ground where Natalie had thrown it shortly before the fight. "Michael, we don't have any more Ambrosia and Nectar. We used it all up a few weeks ago fighting those giants, remember?" Michael looked away so nobody could see his face. "Don't worry, I wasn't going to ask for any." He winced again but corrected his stance. "Really, it isn't as bad as it looks, and besides, we need to keep moving. I think that Gorgon won't take long to realize her precious dogs are missing." Ava nodded while Natalie continued to stare at him. "That doesn't look okay Michael." Michael waved her away. He would just have to tough this out. He turned to Annie and saw her looking towards something just past a few of the trees. Michael took a step towards her but fell to his knees. Natalie gasped and ran over to help. "I'm fine Natalie, I just tripped." He stood back up and trudged over to Annie to get a better look at what exactly she was seeing. Natalie and Ava followed suit. "Annie, what are you looking at?" She turned wide-eyed and pointed. All of them turned to look at it. Carved into one of the trees just past where they were was marked in three giant letters. '''THO''' "I, I know this place," started Annie as she walked up and traced her finger along the carving. "What is it Annie?" inquired Natalie as she walked up behind her. "It's... one of our old meeting places in case of emergency. The chances..." Annie drifted off, attempting to mask the sadness she felt. "Hold up," started Ava, confusion in her voice. "I thought you said you guys last met in Boston." Annie nodded slowly. "It is. This is one of our other ones. We havn't touched it in years. The Boston place is where we last met, and we still need to go there." Michael nodded, and winced again. Luckily, nobody noticed. A gorgon's scream lit up the forest. Everyone jumped but Ava. Annie quickly sped up, motioning to the others to follow. "Hurry, we need to get moving. We should try to reach it before the gorgon catches up with any back up she has." "I thought this was it?" inquired Ava and Natalie as they helped Michael move faster, even though he persisted it was unnecessary. "No, this is just a marker, the actual base is concealed a few miles up ahead." The gorgon screeched again, followed by the sounds of several other monsters. "Let's go." ''End Chap. 3'' Chapter Four